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County approves lower fee approach for bulk E-911 sign replacements to save township costs
Summary
The board approved charging labor and material rates from the fee schedule instead of the higher single-sign E-911 rate when replacing multiple address signs along a roadway, a change intended to reduce costs for townships.
The Houston County Board of Commissioners approved a change to how the county charges for bulk E-911 address sign replacements, allowing the highway department to bill townships at labor and material rates in the county fee schedule rather than the higher single-sign E-911 replacement rate when multiple signs are replaced along the same roadway.
Brian, who presented the proposal, said the current fee schedule includes a $160 charge for replacing a single sign and $230 to replace a sign and post. He said those rates assumed sporadic, single-call replacements and did not account for efficiencies when replacing many signs on the same route.
Under the approved approach, when the county replaces a majority of signs along a selected roadway in bulk it will charge the county fee-schedule labor rate (hourly labor plus 60% mark-up to cover benefits and overhead) and materials at cost plus a 15% administrative markup. Brian said the county expects the bulk approach to reduce costs to townships by roughly half compared with the existing single-sign fee.
The plan laid out a three-year implementation: this year replacing signs along state highways, next year county roads and the following two years township roads. Brian said most townships contacted were in agreement; at least one township planned to opt out this year.
A commissioner clarified that the county bills the township (not individual township residents) and the township may choose whether to pass costs to property owners. The board moved and seconded the change and approved it by voice vote.
Brian said the county will notify townships before work begins and that townships that opt out this year may face the higher single-sign rate if they later request piecemeal work.
